Latest Posts

Bengie Molina hadn’t hit a home run since the middle of July, but he just went deep off David Price. That, combined with his earlier RBI single, Francoeur’s double and a Nelson Cruz moon-shot homer makes it 4-0 Rangers entering the 5th. David Price has not had many outings like this. In fact, Price has…

For those of you stuck at work, please know that Jeff Francoeur doubled in the first run of the postseason and then Bengie Molina promptly drove in Francoeur. Off David Price, one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. It’s 2-0 as we head into the bottom of the second. The lesson here: all…

Remember those hideously awesome plaid “Brayers” the Rays have been wearing? Well, according to Mark Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times the Rays are working on a deal to sell them at Saks Fifth Avenue … for $300 each. For that money you can get a “custom made” Brayser “through the same New York City…

Brian Roberts missed the Orioles’ final six games with concussion-like symptoms believed to be caused by the All-Star second baseman hitting himself in the helmet with his bat. Seriously. While that won’t sound any less embarrassing for Roberts, the good news is that he’s feeling better and Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com reports that a CT…

I just tuned into the Rays-Rangers game and the first thing that announcer Don Orsillo said was that the Rays have sold out Games 1 and 2 of the Division series. So, there goes a whole week’s worth of “why can’t the Rays draw” complaints. They can draw when the games matter. In other news,…

In a surprise move, Placido Polanco is not in the Phillies’ lineup for Game 1 of the NLDS later this afternoon, with Wilson Valdez starting at third base in his absence. Polanco has had elbow problems for most of the season and needed cortisone shots down the stretch to deal with the pain from a…

I know there are a lot of things that go into building a manager’s reputation that none of us see: friendships, conversations on the field before games and all manner of things that go on when baseball isn’t actually being played. But I still have a hard time seeing why Juan Samuel would, as Jeff…

OK, so the actual story is less dirty than it probably sounds, but still. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post checked in on No. 1 overall pick Bryce Harper’s early experience in the Florida instructional league and got some amusing details from Nationals director of player development Doug Harris: At the Nationals’ player development complex…

UPDATE: The skepticism was warranted. Brewers GM Doug Melvin just shots down the Brenly rumor, saying “Unless somebody else has been doing the hiring process, that’s not true.” 11:30: A.M. I slapped the “rumor” tag on the headline because if we were tallying “rumors that ended up being totally wrong” by media sector, radio guys…

What was the problem with the Mets this year? The rotation? The pen? The injuries? Nah, according to John Harper of the Daily News it was all about character. Or the lack thereof: Let’s start with toughness, the one intangible the Mets have lacked most in recent years . . . Not that retaliating or…

Last week general manager Dave Dombrowski said the Tigers will not attempt to re-sign impending free agent Johnny Damon, but yesterday the 36-year-old outfielder made it clear that he has no plans to retire: I definitely want to keep playing, but it’s going to have to be somewhere else because Detroit has a lot of…

Jim Edmonds said last week that he was “hopeful” about being ready for the playoffs after suffering an injury that was initially believed to be a torn achilles’ tendon, but that was never particularly likely and the Reds officially announced that he won’t be on the playoff roster. Cincinnati opted to give the final spot…

My friends at The Platoon Advantage have a fun post today: counting down the 40 greatest seasons by players on terrible teams. I was somewhat shocked but quite pleased to see Lonnie Smith’s 1989 season with a putrid Braves team so high on the list. I loved that season. I loved the 1988 Braves season…

Opening Day catcher Dioner Navarro, part-time designated Willy Aybar, and rookie phenom Jeremy Hellickson are all absent from the Rays’ playoff roster, with struggling starter Jeff Niemann and outfielders Rocco Baldelli and Desmond Jennings making the cut in their place. In fact, Baldelli will actually start at designated hitter against Cliff Lee in Game 1,…

When you watch a game, you can root with all your heart. When you preview a series, you gotta go with your head. My head and my heart tell me two different things when it comes to the Braves vs. the Giants.

A.J. Burnett getting bumped from the Yankees’ playoff rotation means the Twins will face a left-handed starter in four of five games, which is a definite advantage for New York. In the regular season the Twins had a .776 OPS versus right-handers compared to a .736 OPS versus left-handers, in large part because Jim Thome…

My dad worked for the National Weather Service for nearly 40 years. This morning I asked him about the playoff weather. He said “How the hell should I know? I’m retired. You’re Mr. Internet. Why don’t YOU look it up?”